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Wilton, Connecticut

Wilton DAR Antiques Marketplace Reflects Response to Terrorist Attacks

by Ed Pfeiffer

Over the past few years as a writer for Maine Antique Digest, I have covered three of the impressive antiques shows in Wilton, Connecticut, staged by Marilyn and Mike Gould of MCG Antiques Promotions. All were upbeat events where attention was focused on fine antiques and collectibles, but on Sunday, September 16, I went back to the Wilton DAR Antiques Marketplace under very different circumstances. Five days earlier, the United States had been changed forever, as fanatical terrorists had killed and maimed thousands of innocent people who had started that beautiful September day at work or traveling. Their families had expected them to return home routinely when they were done.

The September marketplace was sponsored by the Drum Hill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and that, in some special way, seemed appropriate. Ancestors of the DAR's members had conceived, and in some cases died for, the possibility of breaking away from Britain and creating a democratic free state in North America. From those roots, the U.S. has evolved to be history's most successful and impressive nation. It seems worth noting that a few days after the terrorist attacks, Britain showed its support for its former colony when the music played at the traditional changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace was "The Star-Spangled Banner."

In the aftermath of the September 11th tragedy, many public events, including antiques shows and auctions, understandably were postponed or canceled. Marilyn Gould is the Second Selectman for the town of Wilton, and in that role for several days after the attack, she attended meetings of the town's crisis response team. She said she had considered closing down the upcoming marketplace, but she was influenced by New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani's urging that people try, as much as possible, to continue everyday normal life.

So with the agreement of the DAR and the support of the show's dealers, she decided to go ahead with the event, but it was redirected as a fund-raising effort to support several programs providing aid to the families of the New York City firefighters and police who were casualties in the terrorist attack. The DAR agreed to contribute its income from the marketplace's early buying time; arrangements were made for Wilton firefighters and police to collect contributions at the show; and MCG Antiques Promotions offered to donate all of its net profit from the event.

As for the show itself, it looked much as it has in the past. There were long aisles of top-quality antiques and collectibles in spaces staffed by some 121 well-regarded dealers. There was, however, one noticeable change: U.S. flags were everywhere. A giant one hung on the wall at the end of the Wilton high school field house where the show took place, and exhibitors decorated their spaces with flags or other patriotic symbols. Dr. Jeffrey Kohn of With All Due Ceremony, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, distributed small flags that visitors could wear on their clothing. In fact, many of the attendees already had flag-decorated clothing.

Turnout at the show was lighter than in the past. Marilyn Gould said there were 225 early buyers in September compared to 325 last year. Total general admissions dropped to 1200 from 2000. Marilyn Gould and some of the dealers speculated that the decline was caused by the nationwide travel problems.

The tragedy at the World Trade Center had a direct impact on the town of Wilton. At the time this story was written, at least four local residents had died or were missing in New York City, according to the town office. There was also direct involvement by Wilton firefighters at the disaster site in Manhattan. Shortly after the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center, the New York City Fire Department sent out a radio call for help from all emergency units in the metropolitan area. Six Wilton firemen responded, riding in their chief's van and arriving on the scene about two hours after the attack. They were assigned to "staging" other arriving emergency units, i.e., directing them to where they could be most helpful.

Staffing a booth at the show were Wilton firefighter Bill Meehan and Lieutenant Mike Michelson; the latter was among the six who went to the World Trade Center site. Many visitors stopped to shake their hands, to thank them in stumbling words for what they and their comrades had done, and to drop contributions into a fireman's boot on their table. Displayed on the wall behind the space were about a dozen enlarged photographs. Michelson explained that Wilton firefighters are routinely issued inexpensive, throwaway cameras to use, if needed, to visually document emergency situations. On September 11 he took pictures with his small camera. They show the wreckage of the buildings and the New York City Fire Department rescue vehicles that were devastated when the second tower collapsed on them and their occupants.

In conversations with exhibitors at the show, all had strong memories of September 11, and some related very special experiences. Dealer Clifford Wallach lives in an apartment near the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn Bridge. In the morning he likes to take a walk on the bridge, and he was doing that on September 11. He witnessed, first hand, the crashes of the two planes into the Trade Center towers.

Jolie Kelter and Michael Malcé of Kelter-Malcé Antiques live on Jane Street in Manhattan, south of the 14th Street limit of the emergency zone that was defined after the attacks. They described the turmoil in their neighborhood, but Kelter talked most about the "kindness of people" and how she had seen food and water for the Trade Center volunteers piled on street corners where it had been donated by New Yorkers.

Clock dealer Gordon Converse told how he had started driving from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., to visit clients but turned around when one of them on the phone described the chaotic traffic situation in the nation's capital.

There were also vignettes and anecdotes about the aftermath of that tragic day in places far removed from New York City or the District of Columbia. Tim Hill of Birmingham, Michigan, had driven to Wilton on interstate highways. All along the way he saw "God Bless America" and similar messages at tollgates and on the digital highway signs usually filled with reports of traffic delays or road conditions.

Scott Filar of Mad Parade, Chicago, Illinois, also had driven to the show. He said his most vivid memory was of a scene early one evening in Sherman, New York, a tiny village near the state's western border. When Filar stopped for gas, he noticed an Amish family and other people gathering at the town's center. As he watched, they staged a candlelight vigil, responding to President Bush's request to remember the victims of the attacks.

The results of the Wilton show's fund-raising efforts were impressive. The firefighters with their boot, together with Wilton police officers at the front door, had collected $7000 from visitors and dealers. The DAR donated its $4800 income from early buying admissions. Marilyn Gould estimated that her firm's contribution of its net profits would be about $12,000. She said the total of about $24,000 would be divided, based on their proportionate casualties, between the families of firefighters and police through the New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund and a special fund of the New York City Police Benevolent Association.

I gathered my thoughts as I drove away from Wilton; it had been a disquieting day. There was still a sense of unreality, a feeling of disbelief that such a cowardly and horrendous attack could have happened, but among the people with whom I had spoken, there was also a sense of unity and common purpose unlike anything I had seen since World War II. There was clearly a quiet resolve that the U.S. would find honorable and effective ways to respond and seek justice. I felt confident that I would be coming back to Wilton sometime in the future when the main topic of conversations would be about fine antiques and collectibles and discussions about subjects such as whether that good-looking Vermont dresser was a "marriage."

Donations may continue to be channeled to the above funds through the Wilton Fire Department, 236 Danbury Road, Wilton, CT 06897, where Lieutenant Michael Michelsen is coordinating the program locally. For more show information, contact MCG Antiques Promotions at (203) 762-3525.